Cheapest affiliate program software?

Question

Most softwares I found want at least $49 per month. For me it's too much considering I could easily make 0 sales for a year or two. I am looking for something free or very cheap until I hopefully get some big affiliates.

MV · Accepted Answer

@ivan_spadacenta I have made a living as a super affiliate for the past decade, and what you say is generally true.

Ivan Spadacenta · Answer

@markvenison can you share some of the most trusted platforms?

Ivan Spadacenta · Answer

@treyww I'm building a custom solution for my SaaS. But some people told me that affiliates do not trust custom solutions... they prefer an external solutions that is independent to track conversions. Do not know how and if this is true.

MV · Answer

@treyww Thanks, I would not know how :D

MV · Answer

@ivan_spadacenta Yes of course, but take this with a pinch of salt.

Some of the biggest and most trustworthy are Shareasale, Impact Radius, Pepperjam.

But as an affiliate I like postaffiliatepro, it's awesome because it tracks raw clicks, IPs, and you can easily verify this is tracking well, with various tests using proxies and vpns to see if they're tricking you or it actually tracks.

But for example, in the AI niche now there are people who have created their own affiliate program an example is the guys at aiffiliate.io which run some AI porn sites.

And I see a lot of big affiliates like myself in the adult niche using their app, mostly because it's new and the company seems serious and professional when you contact them, and somehow you want to take advantage of this AI bubble before it gets too common, so you're not that picky.

What I want to say is that you don't need to get ripped off by paying big fees to shareasale, impact radius, and such. You can create your own affiliate program and as long as you sound professional in your emails and your program is not too annoying to use, affiliates will use it.

As I was answering you, I remembered another program I discovered lately called bixgrow, I am gonna probably use this one now since I just realized is free up to $1000 in sales.

CJ and Awin are giants, but so fucking annoying to join and so user-unfriendly to use, that I literally avoided their products on purpose for years (not that they needed me!)

Ivan Spadacenta · Answer

@markvenison Thank you fro your detailed answer!!

MV · Answer

@treyww I will look into stripe and such, but honestly I have very basic php, css, html skills, I think the learning curve can be too much for me, if I can find a free affiliate program that maybe doesn't charge me if I don't make any money, I would prefer to do that and focus my efforts elsewhere.

Trey Winterbourne · Answer

Could you not build a custom solution with a backend and something like stripe or PayPal? And just track affiliation payments in a database?

Trey Winterbourne · Answer

@ivan_spadacenta ah that’s a very good point. But if your project is big enough there would be enough trust as it would be illegal to fake or not capture events. So as long as you don’t make a dodgy terms page it could work. Great point though!

Answer

When seeking the cheapest affiliate program software, it's essential to balance affordability with functionality. While cost-effective solutions are appealing, they should also offer the necessary features to effectively manage your affiliate marketing efforts. Think of it as finding the right "клей для поролона" — a solution that not only fits your budget but also provides the adhesive strength to hold your affiliate program together seamlessly. By prioritizing value and efficiency, you can optimize your affiliate marketing strategy without breaking the bank.

Trey Winterbourne · Answer

@markvenison ah. Could be a great learning experience though. Depending on your backend language and framework it could differ but im sure there’s probably a stripe or PayPal intrgration, then you just create a payment order for whatever it is you need, and track each time someone completes the order and the order amount, then do some logic to get the total conversion and check if it has reached the amount needed to withdraw. Then you’ll need to figure out the integration again to payout. This is all info coming out of my ass, I’m sure it would be harder, but sounds like a fun project to learn if you’re into the backend

Cheapest affiliate program software?

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